Published at: June 27, 2000, 3:32 a.m. CST by staff
Last Thursday night, when I was on my way back from THE PERFECT STORM screening, and my cel phone messages were in double digits with everyone telling me that Bill Mechanic had just left FOX... My heart sunk.
Bill didn't like me very much. However, for all the rhetoric, I did like Bill Mechanic. Why? Because Bill really was committed to FOX ANIMATION. It was a division that he was committed to stick behind for the long haul. When TITAN AE's first Friday numbers showed up on Showbizdata.Com, I realized that it would come in at around nine and a half million and that it was going to be a gigantic flop. Quite honestly, I really honestly don't feel the film deserves that sort of rep. I feel the movie has some deep flaws, but even with those... there are some great sequences in this film. However, coming into release there was literally ZERO buzz about the film.
But with Bill Mechanic gone, the nails were fully prepared and the hammer came out, and the coffin is now built for 2D traditional animation at FOX. Ahhhh, yes, we should destroy 100% of our investment in this field because of a subpar screenplay and mediocre marketing campaign with straight to video one-sheets and completely uninvolving trailers.
So now FOX will throw it's weight behind COMPUTER ANIMATION. They have an ALL NEW facility ready to commence progress on ICE AGE with BLUE SKY STUDIOS behind them... the same folks responsible for the FANTASTIC short cg film, BUNNY. Now ICE AGE will most likely be a success. BUT NOT BECAUSE it is CGI, but because Chris Wedge is an emerging genius in the field. Because they have a wonderful story at the heart of the film.
Because, as much as I love Don Bluth, their take on animation will not be tired. The fact is no character in TITAN AE was alive... they were all disenfranchised pisser and moaners. There was noone to embody the dream that was EARTH. Because we didn't see the father die, we had no personal hatred for the bad guys. Because there was no real character motivations for anyone. THESE WERE STORY PROBLEMS. As simple as the ones that plagued ANNA AND THE KING.
You know... Should DISNEY have closed up house after THE BLACK CAULDRON didn't perform well? Or how about after THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER didn't do all that great? Or after THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE didn't perform great? Are the executives and the folks behind FOX really that big of pussies? I mean, Sheeshus H Crisco, fire Bluth if you have to, but don't destroy the entire facility. This is madness!
At this point, this is where you have to tighten the belt, form a team. You spend the money to bring in new fresh blood. Take a look at your super-budget films that you haven't been able to justify spending $100 million plus on because the sets and the costuming and the stars would be too expensive... and make them as an ANIMATED PROJECT. I don't know if you noticed or not, but DISNEY's large scale release of FANTASIA 2000 didn't perform as well as TITAN AE... you think they're gonna close up shop? Yup... just let em all go? Nope... That's because DISNEY, whether ya like it or not, is COMMITTED TO ANIMATION, and you guys are acting like junk bond salesmen.
As one Badayass Mutherfukkah told me, Don Bluth is attempting to buy the Arizona facility and all the equipment from Fox. He's working on rehiring alot of the staff and creating a game development studio and feature animation facility out of the place. Ya know why? BECAUSE BLUTH, unlike these johnny come latelys, IS COMMITTED TO THE FORM!!!
